The Garda watchdog is investigating after a man apparently ran from a crash scene and fell down an embankment as gardaí came to investigate a crash he was involved in.

The crash happened at around 2.30am yesterday on the M7 between junctions 17 and 18, close to Portlaoise, Co Laois.

It appears from initial investigations that a car was travelling northbound in the southbound carriageway.

It is believed it was being driven by a male driver, who was the only occupant of the car.

The car then crashed into the central crash barrier. Local sources say that when gardaí arrived to investigate the crash, the man tried to leave the scene and fell down an embankment.

He was then taken to Tallaght Hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. It was unclear if he sustained the injuries in the crash, the fall or both.

The incident has been referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) because it was a situation in which gardaí were interacting with a member of the public when the latter part of the incident happened.

It is understood that the vehicle was not being pursued by gardaí at the time of the crash.

Gsoc has confirmed it is investigating the incident.

"We have deployed a team of investigators to the scene, who are examining the evidence and will not be able to comment until those investigations are complete," said a Gsoc spokeswoman.